US2418726A

US2418726A - Log handling apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2418726A
Application number: US573080A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Robert S Rogers
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-01-16
Filing date: 1945-01-16
Publication date: 1947-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 1964-04-08

Description

April 1947- R. 8. ROGERS, JR

LOG HANDLING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 16, 1945 P 1947- R. s. ROGERS, JR

LOG HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 16, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 P" 1947- R. 8. ROGERS, JR

LOG HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 16, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 a M, W

p 1947. R. s. ROGERS, JR

LOG HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 16, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr. 8, 1947 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE LOG HANDLING APPARATUS Robert S. Rogers, Jr., Cheraw, S. 0.

Application January 16, 1945, Serial No. 573,080

15 Claims.

The present invention relates to a combined vehicle and loading and unloading apparatus, and more particularly to a self-propelled apparatus for loading, transporting, and unloading and stacking logs and the like.

Briefly, the invention comprises a self-propelled vehicle having a chassis provided with a pivoted ramp at the rear end thereof that can be lowered so that loading fingers at the rear end of the ramp can engage under a log and be simultaneously reciprocated' to project the same under said log and oscillated to raise said log to a position where ramp chains having lugs thereon can operatively engage said log and move it up the ramp and onto conveying chains arranged longitudinally of the chassis of the vehicle. Log elevating and lowering mechanism is arranged adjacent the conveying chains on the chassis and is operable to elevate the logs to relieve the conveying chain of the dead weight of said logs. The elevating means is preferably manually adjustable so that the conveying chains force successive logs onto the elevating means and then cause them to slide forwardly along said elevating means as successive logs are loaded. The loaded vehicle is then driven to the point where the logs are to be unloaded. In unloading the vehicle, the ramp may be adjusted to any angular position by a hydraulic cylinder. The direction of travel of the conveying chains and the ramp chains is then reversed so that the logs are conveyed to the ramp chains by the conveying chains and the ramp chains then carry the logs to the rear end of the ramp for discharge onto the ground or onto a pile of previously unloaded logs. If the logs are to be steamed, they can be stacked in a steam house by the ramp to any height desired. The log elevating mechanism is manipulated as desired to raise and lower the logs relative to the conveying chain in order to properly .feed the logs to the ramp chains.

The principal object of the invention is to provide relatively simple apparatus for loading, transporting, and unloading and stacking elongated members such as logs and the like, whereby to eliminate the loss of time and expense incident to manual loading, unloading and stacking of the logs.

Another object of the invention is to provide mechanical means capable of both loading logs onto a mobile support and unloading and stacking said logs.

A more specific object of the invention is to 2 provide apparatus for picking up logs from the ground and loading them onto a vehicle.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide apparatus for unloading logs and the like from a vehicle and depositing the same upon the I ground or stacking the same upon other logs to any desired height.

A further object of the invention is to provide mechanical means for picking up logs from the round, loading the same onto a vehicle for transportation and then unloading and stacking the same in a building for treatment, such as steaming, or for storage.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. in which:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat schematic side elevational view of a log handling apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles oi. the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the log handling apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the lines 1-4 of Figs. 1 and 3.

Fig.- 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the rear end of the ramp with the loading fingers in the position that they assume to pickup a log from the ground for loading onto the ramp; FiFig. 6 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6, but showing the loading fingers in the position that they assume to deliver a log to the ramp chains;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. '7 but illustrating the ramp elevated, with the loading fingers in the position that they assume to permit unobstructed unloading of the logs by the ramp chains;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1 illustrating certain control elements of the apparatus;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 2 illustrating a portion of the mechanism provided for elevating the logs above the conveying chains in order to relieve said chains of the dead weight of said logs;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken on the line I l-l I of Fig. 2 illustrating certain details of the log elevating mechanism;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating the log elevating apparatus in its raised 3 position in full lines and its retracted position in dot and dash lines;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of one of the elements of the log elevating mechanism; and

Fig. 14 is a view illustrating the manner in which the ramp may be elevated to unload and stack logs at a desired height in a building for storage or treatment.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral I generally indicates a self-propelled vehicle including a chassis 2 comprising a pair of longitudinally extending side channels 3 interconnected by a series of

transverse channel members

4, 5 and 6. The chassis is supported by front wheels I, and rear wheels 8 driven from an engine 9 through a conventional transmission In and propeller shaft (not shown) contained in a tube II. A cab I2 is located at the forward end of the vehicle I and provides a shelter for the operator as well as a housing for the usual steering wheel l3, gear shift lever l4, etc. The cab I2 also contains a control lever [5 associated with a conventional reversing gear mechanism 16 connected with a conventional power take-off l'i.

A control lever I8 in the cab I2 is associated with a conventional, positive hydraulic control box l9 controlling the raising and lowering of the free end of a ramp 20 located at the rear end of the chassis 2, all as will be described in further detail later. A crank handle 2| is also located in the cab l2 for manually raising and lowering log elevating and supporting

members

22 and 23, as will also be described in detail later.

The conventional reversing mechanism [6 is arranged to drive a transversely extending shaft 25 having a pair of sprockets 26 fixed thereto at a point just inside the side channels 3. The sprockets 26 are arranged to drive a pair of sprockets 21 fixed to a transverse shaft 28 located at the rear end of the chassis 2 through conveying chains 23 arranged longitudinally of said chassis. The upper run of each of the chains 29 is arranged so that the lower surface thereof slides along and is supported by the bottom of a channel 30 (Figs. 1 and extending from a point adjacent the sprockets 21 at the rear end of the chassis 2 to an abutment plate 3| adjacent the cab l2, the channels 30 being preferably welded to the abutment plate 3| and to the

transverse members

4, 5 and 6 to maintain the same in place, It will be observed from Fig. 10 that the upper surfaces of the conveying chains 29 lie in a horizontal plane above the upper edges of the side channels 3 so that the chains 23 can convey a log X along the chassis 2 without having the log engage the top flange of said side channels.

The ramp is essentially a rigid frame structure pivoted for limited angular rotation about the shaft 28 at the rear end of the chassis 2. This frame comprises generally triangular plates 32 which are positioned on the shaft 28 just outside of the side channels 3 and are free to rotate upon said shaft. ll-beams 33, with their flanges disposed vertically, are aligned with the upper edge of the triangular plates 32 and the inner flanges thereof are welded to the outer sides of said plates. The I-beams 33 extend rearwardly from the plates 32 and have skids 34 welded to the inner flanges thereof. The frame 20 includes channel-shaped braces in the form of struts 35 which have their backs welded to the inner surfaces of the plates 32 and to the inner surfaces of the skids 34. The I-beams33 are connected together at their forwardends by a channel 36 and the struts 35 are connected together at the rear end of the ramp 20 by a channel member 31 resting upon the top flanges of said struts. The ramp 2!! is further braced against twisting by diagonally disposed

members

38 and 39 which are welded or otherwise secured together at theirpoint of crossing-and are secured at their ends to the webs of the struts 35.

As is best shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the skids 34 are provided with bosses 40 which serve as bearings for a third shaft 46 The shaft 28 has a second pair of sprockets 4| mounted thereon at a point outwardly of the triangular plates 32. The sprockets 4| drive sprockets 42 fixed to the shaft 40 through ramp chains 43. Each of the ramp chains 43 is provided with a plurality of lugs 43 which are about 3 inches in height and spaced about 18 inches apart. The lower surface of the upper run of the chains 43 is slidably supported by the upper surface of the webs 33 of the I-beams 33. The shaft 4i) has a pair of conventional eccentrics 44 mounted thereon inwardly of the skids 34 and these eccentrics operate log lifting fingers 45, which are adapted to be projected beneath a log on the ground and oscillated in order to elevate the same for loading via the ramp 20 onto the vehicle I. Bell crank levers 46 are pivotally mounted upon the shaft 4ll at a point between the bosses 40 of the skids 34 and the eccentrics 44. Each of the bell crank levers 46 has an arm 4! which abuts against one end 48 of a rod 49. The opposite end of the rod 49 is pivotally mounted at 50 (Fig. 1) upon the lower end of a bracket 5| depending from the chassis side members 3. A turnbuckle 52 is arranged in each of the rods 49 so that the overall length of said rods may be adjusted as desired. Each of the rods 49 is slidably supported at a point removed from the end 48 in a swivelled guide 53 carried by a bracket 54 depending from the struts 35.

Each of the bell crank levers 46 has a second arm 55 that carries a pin 56. The pins 56 project into slots 51 formed in the adjacent fingers 45 on the forward side of the shaft 40. A projection 58 is welded or otherwise secured to the upper flange of each of the struts 35 and is adapted to be engaged by the arm 55 of the bell crank 46 during the unloading operation to permit the fingers 45 to assume a non-obstructing position, as will be pointed out more fully hereinafter.

The ramp 20 is adapted to pivot about the shaft 28 so that it can be raised from the position shown in Fig. 1, wherein the fingers 45 project part-way under a log X, to any desirable angular position, such as shown, for example, in Fig. 14. The raising and lowering of the ramp 2D is controlled by the lever l8, previously referred to, associated with the conventional positive hydraulic control mechanism l9. It will be noted from Fig. 2 that flexible conduits 6i and 62 extend from the unit l9 to opposite ends of a hydraulic cylinder 63. The forward end of the cylinder 63 is pivotally mounted at 64 (Fig. 3) upon a bracket 65 secured to a transverse member 66 carried by the side members 3. The cylinder 63 contains a piston 6'1 connected to a rod 68 which projects through the rear end of the cylinder 63 and is connected with a sleeve 63 mounted upon a shaft 10. The shaft 10 is iournaied in bosses ll (Fig. 4) carried by andproje'cting inwardly from the plates 32. Lateral displacement of the shaft 16 relative to the bosses II is prevented by cotter pins 12. It will be apparent that the piston 61 will be shifted in the cylinder 63 depending upon whether fluid under pressure is being admitted into the cylinder through conduit 6| or conduit 62 and that such admission of operating fluid is controlled by the lever Hi to position and maintain said piston in any desired position of adjustment in said cylinder.

In the normal use of the apparatus, the ramp 20 is lowered under the control of the operator through the manipulation of the control lever l6 to adjust the piston 61 in the hydraulic cylinder 63 so that the lower curved surface 34 of the skids 34 engages the ground to slide thereover and the pointed end of the fingers 45 can then be forced under the log X to be loaded, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 5. The under surface of the fingers 45 is generally convex as indicated at 45 in order to avoid all tendency of said fingers to dig in or bury themselves in the ground. It will be understood that the lever I 5 associated with the reversing mechanism I 6 of the power take-off device I! will now be so positioned that the shaft 25 will be rotating counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, thus driving the

sprockets

26 and 27 in the same direction with the result that the upper run of the conveying chains 29 and the ramp chains 43 travel in a direction toward the front end of the vehicle I. The

chains

29 and 43 travel at a very slow speed, for example, at the rate of about 18 inches per minute and this affords ample opportunity to manipulate the vehicle l in such manner that the fingers 45 will be forced under the log X to be loaded, a distance greater than the radius of the log. Of course, it will be understood that the ramp 20 may be lowered to the desired position of adjustment and the lever 15 positioned in neutral so that the chains and the driving mechanism of the fingers 45 remain stationary until said fingers have been projected under the log X the desired distance.

The eccentrics 44, which operate the fingers 45, have a throw of 3 inches. When the ramp 20 is lowered the arms 41 of the bell cranks 46 automatically engage the ends 48 of the rods 49 to move said bell cranks to locate the pins 56 in a predetermined position and to hold said bell cranks relatively stationary so that the fingers 45 fulcrum about the pins 56 carried by the arms 55 of said bell cranks; the necessary reciprocating movement of the fingers 45 and the accompanying oscillating movementthereof being permitted by the slots 51. The operation of the eccentrics 44 is so correlated or timed with the travel or movement of the lugs 43 on the ramp chains 43 that one of said lugs on each chain will assume a position to engage the log X immediately after it has been lifted by the fingers 45 and has rolled down the upper surface 45 of said fingers onto the ramp chains 43, as illustrated in Fig. 7. It will be noted from this figure that the fingers 45 are now in a position such that the log X will have rolled by gravity from the now downwardly inclined surface 45 of said fingers onto the ramp chains 43, with 3. lug 43 immediately behind the log X ready to engage the same and retain it on the chains 43 for movement up the inclined ramp 20.

After the log X has been deposited upon the ramp chains 43, the eccentrics 44 will move the fingers 45 back to the position shown in Fig. 5 so that the vehicle can be backed up or otherwise manipulated to pick up another g X for loading, in the manner previously described.

It will be understood that the ramp chains 43 present the loaded log X to the conveying chains 29 so that they can be moved along the chassis 2 toward the abutment plate 3|. The conveying chains 29 carry no lugs corresponding to the lugs 43' of the ramp chains.

It is desirable to load the vehicle I with as many logs as possible and in closer relationship than that permitted by the spacing of the lugs 48 on the ramp chains. In order to accomplish this, means is provided on the chassis 2 for relieving the chains 29 of the dead weight of the logs so that the friction of the conveying chains 29 against the bottom of the channels 3!! and the logs is eliminated. The foregoing result is achieved by mounting a series of elevating

members

22 and 23 between the

transverse frame members

4, 5 and 6 and adjacent the chains 29 in a manner providing for manual operation thereof to raise and lower the logs to any extent desired by the operator. The elevating

members

22 and 23 may be formed of sections of pipe, as illustrated in Fig. 13 with the end of the pipe sections closed by a disc 15 arranged so that a rod 16 is eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of the pipe sections. The discs 15 and rods 16 are preferably welded in place with respect to the

pipe section

22 and 23. The rods I6 are suitably joumaled in the

transverse members

4, 5 and 6 and in the abutment plate 9| and are interconnected for simultaneous rotary movement in a commondirection by a chain 11 (Figs. 2 and 9) and a sprocket I8 fixed to each of the rods 16. One of the rods 16 also carries a worm wheel 19 which meshes with a worm 60 fixed on the lower end of a vertical shaft 8| adapted to be manually rotated by the previously mentioned crank 2L. Hence, it will be apparent that if the operator rotates the crank 2| the rods 16 will be rotated and the eccentrically

mounted members

22 and 23 carried thereby will be raised and lowered to the extent desired. Fig. 12 illustrates the member 22 in its fully raised position in full lines and in its fully retracted position in dot-and-dash lines. By proper adjustment of the

members

22 and 23 it will be evident that all or any part of the weight of the logs can be removed from the conveying chains 29. It will also be apparent that by rotating the rods 16 through more than one revolution the entire load can be shifted transversely of the chassis 2, if desired.

It will be clear from Fig. 2 that the elevating

members

22 and 23 extend rearwardly to a point adjacent the rear end of the chassis 2 so that the loaded logs are transferred from the ramp chains 43 onto the conveying chains 29 before they reach the elevating

members

22 and 23. There is sufiicient friction between the conveying chains 29 and the loaded log to permit the chains to slide the log onto the

rearmost sections

22 and 23, and as successive logs are transferred to the conveying chains 29 the logs are progressively pushed forward and slide along the

members

22 and 23 until the desired loading has been accomplished. Any logs pushed forwardly far enough to be moved off the

forward elevating members

22 and 23 will come to rest upon the conveying chains 29 and be conveyed forwardly into engagement with the abutment plate 3| as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1. It will be understood, of course, that the elevating

members

22 and 23 may be raised and lowered during loading of the vehicle I to facilitate movement of the logs toward the front end of said vehicle by the conveying chains 29, as conditions may necessitate. It will also be apparent that the elevating

members

22 and 23 can also be rotated-to shift the logs transversely as desired.

After the desired number of logs has been loaded onto the chassis 2, the vehicle I can be driven to any desired point and the logs unloaded therefrom. Unloading of the legs is readily effected by shifting of the lever iii of the reversing mechanism to a position to cause the direction of travel of the upper run of the

chains

29 and 43 to be reversed, and the actual unloading of the logs can be controlled by turning the handle: 2| to manipulate the elevating

devices

22 and 23 to lower or raise the logs relative to the chains 29 as required. It will be apparent that the chains 29 will successively present the logs to the ramp chains 43 so that the lugs 43 thereof can engage the rearmost log and carry it onto the ramp 20. The ramp 20 is adjusted to any desired angle by operation of the hydraulic cylinder 63 under the control of the lever I8, as previously described. When the apparatus is used to stack logs in a building, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 14, the ramp 20 will be backed into the building and the logs unloaded and stacked as indicated, the ramp 20 being elevated and lowered as stacking conditions require.

It will be understood that as the ramp 2D is elevated from the position shown in Fig. 1, the ramp 20 will turn about the shaft 28 as a pivot and the rod 49 will slide through the swivel block 53, the result being that the end 48 of said rod is moved to a position in which it is no longer engaged by the arm 41 of the bell crank lever 45. This permits the bell crank lever 46 to pivot upon the shaft 40 to the limited extent permitted until the arm 55 of said bell crank engages the projection 58, as indicated in Fig. 8, The rotation of the bell crank 46 necessarily carries the pin 56 to a new position providing a different fulcrum point for the fingers 45. The net result is, that the fingers 45 are permitted to move clockwise relative to the skids 34 to an extent greater than when the bell crank arm 47 is engaged with the end 48 of the rod 49. The purpose of providing such additional movement of the fingers 45 during unloading is to enable the logs'to be carried by the lugs 43 onto the upper surface 34 of the skids 34 and to be discharged therefrom without hindrance by the fingers 45. Thus, a lost motion arrangement is provided enabling the fingers 45.

to be retracted so as not to interfere with the discharge of the logs over the ends of the skids 34 at such time as the function of the fingers for lifting the logs onto the ramp chains 43 is not required.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the arrangement and details of construction of the apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a ramp pivotally mounted on the rear end of said chassis; means including a hydraulic cylinder operatively connected with said ramp for effecting angular movement thereof relative to said chassis; means at the rear end of said ramp for lifting a log off the ground and depositing the same upon said ramp; and a conveyor on said chassis arranged to receive logs from said ramp and to convey the same toward the forward end of said chassis.

2. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of conveying chains extending longitudinally of said chassis; a ramp pivotally mounted on the rear end of said chassis; a cylinder having a fluid pressure operative piston connected with said ramp for angularly adjusting said ramp relative to said chassis; a pair of chains on said ramp for conveying the logs along said ramp and delivering the same to said conveying chains on said chassis; and means at the rear end of said ramp for lifting a log ofi the ground and delivering the same to said ramp chains.

3. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of endless conveying chains extending longitudinally of said chassis; channel members carried by said chassis and engaged with the lower side of the upper run of said conveying chains; a ramp at the rear end of said chassis; a pair of endless ramp chains carried by said ramp for delivering a log to said conveying chains; means carried by said ramp engaging the lower side of the upper run of said ramp chains; and means at the rear end of said ramp for loading a log from the ground onto said ramp chains.

4. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a' vehicle having a chassis; a pair of endless conveying chains extending longitudinally of said chassis; channel members carried by said chassis supporting the upper run of said conveying chains; a ramp pivotally mounted on the rear end of said chassis; a pair of endless ramp chains provided with spaced lugs carried by said ramp for delivering a log to said conveying chains; means carried by said ramp supporting the upper run of said ramp chains; means at the rear end of said ramp for loading a log from the ground onto said ramp chains; and means connected with said ramp for angularly adjusting the same relative to said chassis.

5. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising. a vehicle having a chassis; a ramp pivotally mounted upon the rear end of said chassis; endless conveyor chains carried by said ramp; spared lugs carried by each of said ramp chains; a pair of loading fingers carried by said ramp at the rear end thereof; means for raising and lowering the rear end of said ramp relative to the ground; and drive means for said loading fingers arranged to effect simultaneous reciprocating and oscillating movement of said fingers to project the same beneath a log on the ground when the ramp is lowered and to raise said log to load said log onto said ramp chains for engagement by a lug on each of said ramp chains to carry said log up said ramp.

6. Apparatus for handling logs and the like comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of conveying chains carried by said chassis and extending longitudinally thereof; a ramp at the rear end of said chassis; a pair of ramp chains carried by said ramp; means at the rear end of said ramp for lifting a log off the ground and depositing the same upon said ramp chains for transfer to said conveying chains; and means on said chassis for receiving said log from said conveying chains and supporting said log to relieve said conveying chains of the dead weight of said log.

7. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of conveying chains carried by said chassis and extending longitudinally thereof; a ramp pivotally connected with the rear end of said chassis; means for raising and lowering the free end of said ramp relative to said chassis; a pair of ramp chains carried by said ramp; means at the rear end of said ramp for lifting a log off the ground and depositing the same upon said ramp chains "for transfer to said conveying chains; and means on said chassis for receiving said log from said conveying chains and supporting said log to relieve said conveying chains of the dead weight of said 8. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of endless conveying chains carried by said chassis and extending longitudinally and substantially horizontally thereof; means at the rear end of said chassis for loading a log onto said conveying chains; means on said chassis arranged to receive a log from said conveying chains and to support the same; and means for raising and lowering said log supporting means relative to the upper run of said conveying chains.

9. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of endless conveying chains carried by said chassis and extending longitudinally and substantially horizontally thereof; means on said chassis supporting the upper run of said conveying chains; means at the rear end of said chassis for loading a log onto said conveying chains; means on said chassis arranged to receive a loaded log from said conveying chains and to support the same; and means for raising and lowering said log supporting means relative to the upper run of said conveying chains.

10. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of conveying chains carried by said chassis and extending longitudinally thereof; a pair of rod members extending longitudinally of said chassis; one adjacent each of said conveying chains; elevating members eccentrically mounted upon said rods and adapted in one operative position thereof to project above the plane of the top surface of the upper run of said conveying chains; and means for rotating said rods.

11. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a pair of conveying chains carried by said chassis and extending longitudinally thereof; means for loading a log onto said conveying chains; a pair of rods extending longitudinally of said chassis, one adjacent each of said conveying chains; elevating members eccentrically mounted upon said rods and adapted in one operative position thereof to project above the plane of the top surface of the upper run of said conveying chains, whereby to relieve said conveying chains of the dead weight of said 10g; means operatively interconnecting said rods for simultaneous rotation; and manually operable means for actuating said lastmentioned means.

12. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a self-propelled vehicle having a chassis; an engine, a transmission, a power takeoff operatively connected with said transmission. and a reversing mechanism operatively connected with said power take-off at the forward end of said chassis; a pair of endless conveying chains extending longitudinally of said chassis and drivingly interconnected with said reversing mechanism; a ramp at the rear end of said chassis; a pair of endless chains on said ramp operatively arranged relative to said conveying chains and driven at the same speed as said conveying chains; means at the rear end of said ramp for lifting a log from the ground and depositing the same upon said ramp chains; and means operatively connected with said ramp including a hydraulic i0 cylinder and piston for angularly adjusting said ramp relative to said chassis.

13. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; conveying means carried by said chassis including a first and second shaft, a pair of sprockets mounted upon each of said shafts and a pair of endless conveying chains extending over the sprockets on said shafts; a ramp at the rear end of said chassis including plate members pivotally mounted upon said second shaft and projecting downwardly below said shaft, frame members rigidly secured to the upper and lower ends of each of said plate members, and skids secured to the forward end of said frame members; a third shaftjournaled in said skid members; a pair of sprockets secured to said second shaft and a pair of sprockets secured to said third shaft; endless ramp chains operatively interconnecting said two last-mentioned pairs of sprockets and arranged to deliver a log to said conveying chains; a pair of loading fingers mounted upon said third shaft for lifting a log from the ground and depositing the same upon said ramp chains; means for imparting reciprocating and oscillating movement to said lifting fingers to project the same under a log and to thereafter raise the log from the ground onto said ramp chains; and means for angularly adjusting said ramp withjrespect to said chassis.

14. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis; a ramp pivotally mounted at its forward end upon the rear end of said chassis; shafts disposed at the opposite ends of said ramp; a pair of sprockets mounted upon each of said shafts; ramp chains interconnecting said last-mentioned pairs of sprockets; spaced lugs carried by each of said ramp chains; a pair of eccentrics mounted upon theshaft at the rear end of said ramps; a pair of loading fingers actuated by said eccentrics, each of said fingers having an elongated slot formed therein on the forward side of said last-mentioned shaft; a pair of hell cranks pivotally mounted upon said last-mentioned shaft; a pin carried by one arm of each of said bell cranks and projecting into the slot of one of said fingers; a pair of rods extending rearwardly from a fixed point relative to said chassis and having. the rear end thereof engaged by the other arm of said bell cranks to prevent substantial turning of said bell cranks in one operative position of said ramp; and means for raising and lowering the rear end of said ramp relative to the ground, said eccentrics and the pins of said bell cranks being operable upon rotation of said eccentrics to effect simultaneous reciprocating and oscillating move ment of said fingers to project the same beenath a log on the ground when the ramp is lowered and raise said log to load said log onto said ramp chains for engagement by a lug on each of said ramp chains to convey said log up said ramp.

15. Apparatus for handling logs and the like, comprising: a vehicle having a chassis including a pair of side members, a'shaft extending transversely of said side members near the forward end thereof, means on said chassis for driving said shaft, a second shaft at the rear end of said side members, a pair of sprockets mounted upon each of said shafts, and endless conveying chains interconnecting the sprockets of the respective shafts; a ramp pivotally mounted at its forward end upon said second shaft; 9. third shaft carried by the rear end of said ramp; a second pair of sprocket mounted upon said second shaft,

11 and a pair of sprockets mounted upon said third shaft; endless ramp chains interconnecting said two last-mentioned pairs of sprockets; lugs carried by each of said ramp chains at spaced intervals; a pair of eccentrics mounted upon said third shaft; a pair of loading fingers actuated by said eccentrics, each of said fingers having an elongated slot formed therein on the forward side of said third shaft; a pair of bell cranks pivotally mounted upon said third shaft; a pin carried by one arm of each or said bell cranks and projecting into the slot of one of said fingers; a pair of rods extending rearwardly from a fixed point relative to said chassis and having the rear end thereof engaged by the other arm of said bell cranks to prevent turning of said bell cranks in one operative position of said ramp; ground-engaging skids carried by the rear end or said ramp; and means for raising and lowering the rear end of said ramp relative to the ground, said eccentrics and the pins of said bell cranks being operable upon rotation of said eccentrics to effect simultaneously reciprocating and oscillating movement of said fingers to project the same beneath a log on the ground when the ramp is lowered and raise said 108 to load said log onto said ramp chains for engagement by a lug on each or said ramp chains to convey said log up said ramp for delivery to said conveying chains.

ROBERT 5. ROGERS, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS German Jan. 2, 1922